Voice calls in WhatsApp come to iOS

Posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2015 at 2:08 pm.

WhatsApp is one of the world’s biggest cross-platform instant messaging services, allowing millions of users to send billions of messages a day to one another, whether they have an iPhone, Android or Windows device.

Multimedia content has been transferrable to contacts via the app for some time, but now it has integrated true VoIP calling capabilities for iOS, meaning Apple users need never make a traditional call again.

Android customers have already been using this new feature for a few weeks, but its arrival on iOS and the iPhone 6 could make WhatsApp much more than just a platform for sending IMs.

Whether you have a Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G data connection available, WhatsApp will be able to make calls. And because VoIP uses the internet to connect people, there is no need to worry about paying international call rates to contact someone overseas.

The only costs will be those of your data allowance, although with Wi-Fi widely available, it should be possible to make truly free calls via WhatsApp.

Of course, you could argue that WhatsApp is successful precisely because it is an alternative form of communication to a voice call. But when you want to organise something, actually talking on the phone may be a boon.